Last month, about 7 people showed up to the Berkeley LW meet-up. To build on that success, we will be meeting on Saturday, October 9 at 7 PM at the Starbucks at 2224 Shattuck Avenue. I'll be there with a sign saying "If you read Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, come talk to me." Last time, we chatted at the Starbucks for about an hour then went somewhere for dinner, so don't feel like you have to eat before you come. Hope to see you there!
Would like to attend, but have a prior commitment, and so will not. Is there a standing Meetup for the 2nd Saturday of the month? If not, how about getting a little more advance notice, like I requested last month? If necessary, and with y'all's permission, I can choose an arbitrary Saturday and announce the address and time myself.
Hey! I gave like 3 more days' notice this time.
Not yet...
(sigh) Aye, that you did. I'm just grumpy because I can't come. See you in November!
I'll be there! And for anyone that wants to make a day of internet meetups, come to the /r/trees meetup at 2PM in Berkeley. http://www.reddit.com/r/trees/comments/dfufu/bay_area_meetup/
Also, why Starbucks? Because they don't care if you sit and don't buy anything?
Please show up to the entmoot with pineapples to pass around.
It looks like that's next Saturday, not today?
It's right next to the BART station, so it makes a good meeting point.
I'll probably be there. (My birthday, btw.)
Happy birthday!
I'm on the fence. Social stuff is good, but I worry that a lot of the potential topics are things I won't have anything to contribute to (e.g. AI-related things I have no background in) or be able to keep up with. I invite people to try to nudge me to one side or the other.
Don't assume we spend all our time talking about the deep, ultimate truths of the universe. Last time, we spend far more time talking about our lives and social rationality than (in the one example I remember occurring) the computability of the universe. If you want to socialize, there's no real pressure to be thinking "DEEP THOUGHTS". People (around here) tend to be biased against changing their routines and trying new things, so you should try to correct in the other direction. I promise you will enjoy yourself.
Like the Iced Drink Theory that Mass_Driver gave us last time.
Sounds good. I don't come around this blog very often I admit, but I'm nearby and need to recapture the feeling of being in college with some other smart folks to talk to.
Well, I was going off the report from last month, which claimed to be pretty lofty. ;) I also forgot to mention my other concern, which is that I'm not prepared to buy a meal in a restaurant, but that doesn't preclude bumming a cafe table for a while.
Okay. I tentatively intend to show up, and will try to remember to actually do so. ;)
Would it help if I PM'd you on Saturday morning?
Oh, on Saturday. I was trying to find a day somewhere in the post body, and didn't, so I assumed it was today. :p I see it in the headline now.
I am much less confident estimating how much I'll feel like going out to meet some strangers in six days than in two hours, but the reminder can't hurt. :)
How late do people usually hang around? I'll be in the area but busy until ~9.
Last time, we'd left Starbucks by 9, but were near by. If you would like, I could PM you my cellphone number and you could call and see where we are.
That would be great, thanks.
LW seems to think you don't exist. Is there some way other than PMs that I could contact you?
I'm so there.
May I suggest mentioning OB and LW on the sign too? More people have read LW than HPMOR, I'm pretty sure.
Well, it's the sign I have... but I'll see what I can do.
I'll be there again.
I'll try to make it out there with some SIAI folk.
While I can get there fine from Davis via Amtrak and BART, getting back is kind of a problem. The last Amtrak train from Richmond to Davis leaves unacceptably early at 9:15pm. Anyone living nearby willing to let me crash for the night and head back early Sunday morning?
Any third alternatives are also welcome.
You can crash at our apartment in Berkeley. Kevin, MBlume, myself (Jey), and other LessWrongers live here.
Yay! Thanks!
Don't live there anymore, but I'm almost certain you can stay at the SIAI house.
I'm down.
I said I'd show up to the last one, then I forgot, but this time I'm writing it down on a sheet of paper tacked to the wall above my computer.
I live just far enough away not to be able to go to Berkeley (without a car). Are there any other LWers in the Santa Cruz area or Monterey?
I live in monterey.
Are you planning to drive up? The route google maps gives from monterey to mountain view passes quite close to where I live. I would gladly provide gas money, and I can reference (at least) two LWers who know that I'm not a crazy person.
Probably not just because its so far away
I'm in Santa Cruz and I'm vaguely thinking about going. I'm not sure yet.
Edit: I have a car so I could drive.
Would you be interested to meet in Santa Cruz?
Aside from being social and all that, it would be neat to be not-strangers if you were interested in carpooling to car-distance meetups.
I'm a grad student at UC Santa Cruz. I'm in Baskin Engineering most of the time.
Are you a student? If you're on campus we could meet, otherwise there's lots of time to talk on the way to Berkeley.
The thing I miss the most about Berkeley is the food. I like the fast food in Berkeley a lot better than in Santa Cruz. I really want to get food at I.B.'s Hoagies (on south side of campus, on Durant) if possible. Thai Basil is another favorite.
I.B.'s Hoagies (south side of campus on Durant) is probably my favorite thing about going back to Berkeley. We're going to get some hoagies around 6:30 pm or so before meeting at Starbucks.
The asian food court area would be a good place to hang out (really I just love Thai Basil), though it might be a little cold since it is out in the open.
Do any of you drink boba? I wonder if any boba places are open late.
Seems like boba are the wonderful squishy bubbles in bubble tea. I usually chew them. Occasionally I swallow them.
For the record, you can do that trip on public transit, it's just really tedious (#17 from downtown SC to I forget the VTA bus number in SJ to BART in Fremont). And you wouldn't want to need to take it back that night.
Wait, I just realized that I parsed that as you looking for a carpool, whereas you may have actually been suggesting another meetup down there. Well, either way, there's some information; the worst it can be is useless. :)
Looked it up on google maps and it said the trip via public transit was over three hours. If the meetup starts at 7 that means I'd either have to leave quickly or get home very late.
Google maps also claims that the car ride is only an hour and a half, which is much more doable, but of course if there are people in my area it's always more convenient for me to travel less (: